The Daily Lard 12-28-10

Douglas LeeDec 28, 2010 7:50 AM

Good Morning, Broncos fans! Eric Studesville confirmed the worst-kept secret in Denver yesterday - that Tim Tebow will start the season finale against San Diego. Again, this points to some disrespectful handling of Kyle Orton, who deserved better than being left to make that same announcement himself last week.

Broncos

Bucky Brooks breaks down the Broncos' game-winning drive on video for NFL.com.

Pat Kirwan says Josh McDaniels should still be coaching up Tebow right now. Oh well...

Woody lists every potential name the Broncos could hire for their next HC. Gee, I feel like I already read that list, and written in a much more organized and thoughtful manner. I wonder where...

LJ on the contract details of Denver's QBs in 2011 - Tebow is promised $8.23 million if he's the starter, Orton is guaranteed $2.89 million, and Brady Quinn will make $700,000. Still no acknowledgement that the DP was responsible for misreporting Orton's contract for the past four months. Eh, details...

KSK isn't impressed by Atlanta's fans. Yeah, in Elway's last game the big cheer was "First Down! Falcons!!!!" - totally lame. Then again, "IN...COM...PLETE!!!" is probably the lamest cheer in the history of sports...

Everyone seems pretty sure that Orton is gone and Tebow is the starter next year. It seems a little premature considering we werenât even sure if Tebow was going to get to play his second game last week and how conservative the play calling has been. Do you really think Tebow starting next year is a done deal?

Posted by CT254 on 2010-12-29 01:14:33

Drew, I don&#8217t think its a matter of having to have a pick as much as cost/benefit, team chemistry and such. I think also to agree with your point is that Denver has depth but they need a couple of players that will make everyone around them better. Right now on defense an opposing team can block Doom and throw away from Bailey. They need a disrupting force on defense therefore I want them to keep the top 5 pick. But, it wouldn&#8217t hurt to have another top pick to move up if another disruptive player is available.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-12-28 23:49:45

I&#8217m baffled as to how having one less pick than the usual allotment has been successfully spun as a near crisis situation, especially when the first 4 fall inside the first 65 overall. Sure, It&#8217d be nice to have the Maroney pick back, but jeepers creepers, do the Broncos fortunes really ride on some dude that&#8217ll make it to the 3rd day of the draft? Probably not. In fact, outside the increasingly surreal world that is Bronco Country, fans would be absolutely enthralled with the idea of having a Top 5 pick, 2 second rounders, and a very early third. Because of that, the idea that pretty good QB depth HAS to be bartered for an extra roll of the dice doesn&#8217t resonate with me.

Posted by Drewthorn on 2010-12-28 23:37:29

Brady Quinn is a quality backup. If they are going to start Tebow, they need to trade Orton. How much is Orton worth depends on how many underclassmen come out. Luck, Mallet, and Newton are all underclassmen. I don&#8217t see Newton staying in school but the other two are not locks to come out. If Denver could somehow get a bidding war for Orton&#8217s services then they will do fine.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-12-28 23:36:37

@azdenfan Oh, I believe Orton would honor his contract, AZ. I just believe he would indicate his desire to be traded, and, due to the dearth in draft choices this year, I believe the Broncos grant it. It would actually workout as a win-win, IMO.

Posted by LarryB on 2010-12-28 22:59:07

Tebow WILL miss games due to the concussion rules. From a purely football standpoint keeping Orton would be a no brainer. The reasons to trade him are money for a rebuilding team with other needs and fairness to him. His salary won&#8217t be a trade deterent. It is line with his peers (Shaub, Cassel, Romo, etc.)

Posted by ohiobronco on 2010-12-28 22:54:28

Thanks Douglas, at 8.4 I agree he&#8217s a little steep for a backup.

And LarryB, I agree he&#8217d be pissed but I think he would still honor the terms of his contract without being bitter, he just seems to have more class than that. Obviously I am a fan of his and wish him the best if he gets a better opportunity.

Posted by azdenfan on 2010-12-28 22:02:42

I agree with azdenfan. As much as I&#8217d love an extra pick or two on draft day I don&#8217t think it&#8217s worth it. I&#8217d rather have Orton coming off the bench in the event Tebow goes down, the liklyhood of which is higher than normal given Tebow&#8217s playing style. How great would it be to have Orton step right in and the offense not miss a beat if such a scenario were to occur.

I say, if people want KO they better make an offer we just can&#8217t refuse, otherwise let&#8217s keep him as our #2.

Posted by c_style on 2010-12-28 21:45:52

@azdenfan If Orton isn&#8217t starting, I believe he&#8217s going to want the hell out of Dodge. (&#8220If I&#8217m back next year, I&#8217m going to assume I&#8217m the starter.&#8221) He knows he can be a quality starter, plus if he starts for another team, he can likely get his entire $8.4 million. He&#8217s not about to ride the pines here, IMO.

Posted by LarryB on 2010-12-28 21:39:13

I thought I saw 2010 was $2.8M and 2011 $5.5M guaranteed. I&#8217m assuming we&#8217d be trading away that $5.5M liability if we were to reach a deal with another team?

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2010-12-28 21:30:19

That&#8217s only what&#8217s guaranteed today. In other words, if Denver cuts Orton, he gets $2.9 million. But if he sticks around, the Broncos will have to pay him a lot more - $8.4 million.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2010-12-28 21:22:04

Trade Orton? For 2.9 million guaranteed, I still don&#8217t see why we wouldn&#8217t keep Orton as our #2. Tebow was injured once this year despite very limited duty. Do we really have trust in Quinn to step in and run this team if he goes down? Having KO as a quality backup would be a great insurance plan, imho.

Posted by azdenfan on 2010-12-28 21:08:49

Doug, as Legwold said in the DP, people around the league have a higher opinion of Orton than do most local fans. The reason is simple: They know what Orton has had to deal with. To take a team with a last place running game, porous O-line, and a last place defense and play with the top QBs in the league was quite a feat for any QB.

I don&#8217t believe his struggles the final two games will have any affect. It seemed a well kept secret that finally came out that Orton suffered a rib injury in the St. Louis game on one side, then injured the other side in the KC game, so he was playing with rib injuries on BOTH sides.

The point is, I&#8217m not sure other teams will consider a 2nd-rounder too high of a price for Orton. If he landed on a team such as Minnesota, who has a good supporting cast already in place, just might launch them back into Super Bowl contention. Which certainly would be worth the investment to them.

Posted by LarryB on 2010-12-28 19:41:59

Ted&#8217s stuff is some of the most detailed and intelligent stuff I&#8217ve seen out there. The only problem is it&#8217s too smart for the casual football fan and requires a learned thought process that most people don&#8217t understand without having MBA or gambling backgrounds. He sees things that casual fans can&#8217t see because he&#8217s able to separate out the immediate results and the obvious from what&#8217s happening.

Anyways, Lombardi is dead on about Singletary and his analysis of the Texans. Singletary&#8217s schemes were simple and unsophisticated. The Texans are a soft team, that has the same problem the Broncos of Shanahan&#8217s years had - characterized by strong starts, poor finishes, and an inability to beat tough, physical teams like the Steelers, Jags and Ravens. A lot of people say that Shanahan teams had a propensity to play down to their competition, but if you take a closer look, we &#8220played down&#8221 to the competition when we faced physical teams. This year&#8217s Broncos team had the same problem: losing to the 49ers, the Raiders, etc.

Posted by chantech on 2010-12-28 17:32:41

Oh and the thing to watch on Orton is where Josh lands. If he goes to one of the teams desperate for a QB, they would have to consider trading for Kyle. Of the teams Klis mentioned, the Josh/Orton combo could work in Carolina, Minnesota, San Francisco, Buffalo, or Cleveland. The two that really jump out are MIN & SF.

If Josh lands in any of these places, those teams would have to consider surrendering a decent value (a second rounder, or maybe a third and a fourth) to bring in a guy that could step right into that offense.

Posted by ButteBronco on 2010-12-28 16:31:44

Thanks Doug! Love how you summarize the DP articles&#8230so I can get a good laugh at the expense of the DP &#8220journalists&#8221 without actually having to read the articles over there.

As a Bronco fan I could not be happier with so much information available to us without having to rely on the MSM thanks to this site, MHR, and Ted&#8217s brain dumps over at onemanfootball. Ted, you in particular have great stuff&#8230just wish you would write more often!

Posted by JoePlummer on 2010-12-28 16:28:54

I haven&#8217t read a Woody column in ages, but it seems more and more like he&#8217s in the know somehow&#8212after all, he reported the Elway stuff and Schefter, who is usually pretty good, backed him up yesterday. So, I took a flier and read that POS spec fest. Wow, I agree TB, that list looked familiar.

Speaking of your list, I was watching the Saints last night thinking about Williams. Specifically, I was wondering about potential FAs he could bring in, as I could recall all the talk about NO&#8217s long list of RFAs they tendered this offseason. So, I did some quick research into the Saints 2011 defensive FAs. It&#8217s a pretty good list. Who knows if Williams could land these guys, but it&#8217s not uncommon for players to follow their coordinators, as we know.

*Starting WOLB Scott Shanle

*DTs Remi Ayodele and Anthony Hargrove

*Backup MLB, but a guy that played a lot last night, Marvin Mitchell

*SAF Roman Harper. He may have grey hair (even though he is only 28), and yes, he was chased-down by Sam Bradford, but the dude is having a huge year.

Posted by ButteBronco on 2010-12-28 16:19:11

I just read a bunch of the fan comments posted to Woody&#8217s article. Apparently, among other problems, no coach will want to come to Denver because they will need to share their salary with two other head coaches.

The stupid! It burns!

I&#8217m off to go bleach my brain&#8230.

Posted by jvill on 2010-12-28 16:06:41

Wow&#8230 that is a VERY familiar list from Woody. CB is right that Woody is speculating, and not calling it that explicitly. I&#8217m a non-journalist, but that seems to be one of those key principles of journalism, to call speculation speculation, and to call news news.

Judy Battista is solid enough as a reporter on the New York teams, but she has no knowledge of the Broncos, and as is made clear by her story, is completely out of her element in discussing them.

Posted by Ted Bartlett on 2010-12-28 15:52:21

@sleepyteak,

I know&#8230that was just sarcasm. I love how it&#8217s taken for granted that McDaniels &#8220sent many of the Broncos best players away&#8221. Marshall has not performed as well as what we have. Cutler couldn&#8217t do any better in Denver than Orton did. Scheffler&#8230not sure. Hillis probably couldn&#8217t run with our line being as crappy as it is. It&#8217s just frustrating to read that garbage all the time.

Posted by NDbronco on 2010-12-28 15:51:55

Doug I can see Orton going to Arizona where previously they had a smart yet imobile qb and went to the SB then the NFC championship. What has hurt Orton stock is that there is 4 1st round QB&#8217s coming out this year and the success of Sanchez, Stafford, Bradford, Freeman, as well as Tebow. So if you are Arizona would you rather have Mallet/Newton/Locker for a #1 or Orton for a #2/3. for them I&#8217d rather have Mallet at 1 or Orton at 3.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-12-28 15:40:52

@chi Agree If they are going to mention those Gaffs, why don&#8217t they mention obtaining productive defensive starters Vickerson and Hunter for nothing and Mays for a low round pick.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-12-28 15:25:45

@ND Lets see former Broncos in the league Uhh there is Cutler in which Denver got a bootload of players for. Uhhh Marshall that Denver got basicaaly Beadles and a second next year. Umm Scheffer that Denver got Cox for. Uhh Hillis that Denver got Quinn for. Uhhh maybe he&#8217s talking about Wiegman, Polumbus yeah Polumbus, Hamilton. Stokley. I don&#8217t know is there anyone else?

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-12-28 15:18:30

Good grief. Klis:

&#8220Much attention has been paid to the personnel gaffes of Peyton Hillis, Jarvis Green and Alphonso Smith. But McDaniels&#8217 system also saw Mario Haggan as a starting linebacker and not just a special teamer. It brought some solid players in Justin Bannan, Andre&#8217 Goodman and Brandon Lloyd.&#8221

I love the use of the passive voice there. It&#8217s like McGeorge citing the short attention spans of fans as reason to be tough on McD. Just love it. And the list of &#8216some solid players&#8217 could also include, oh, Brian Dawkins, Kyle Orton, Gaff (better numbers than Marshall for eff&#8217s sake!), Renaldo Hill or, I dunno, some of the really good players the Broncos have drafted. Just throwing that out there.

Posted by Chibronx on 2010-12-28 15:02:22

Thanks, Doug. Woody&#8217s just an opinion writer, but that column was journalistic malpractice because it blurred the line between off-the-cuff speculation and actual information from the team. As best as I can tell, Woody&#8217s just throwing names out there. And really, if the Broncos are considering hiring Mike Singletary for anything, please shoot me. But he makes his speculation sound as thought it&#8217s grounded in information from the team.

All this time, and the Denver press can&#8217t decide whether the Broncos are going to hire an external GM, or promote Xanders. And worse than that, they&#8217re going back and forth on the issue without letting the readers know where the purported information comes from. Good Lord. That&#8217s what journalists are supposed to do. It&#8217s not like this is a national security matter. Report the facts, or don&#8217t, and tell me what&#8217s speculation and what&#8217s sourced.

Also: Massholes.

Thanks for the Lard!

Posted by Chibronx on 2010-12-28 14:58:48

You&#8217ve been a busy boy. Thanks again Doug!

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2010-12-28 14:41:01

Did you know that McD left the roster in shambles, sending many of the Broncos best players away? I didn&#8217t recognize that. Where are they now?